The GREAT Sleepover

As I write this, we are winding down the last few minutes of a social experiment. It all started with Ian and his friends spontaneously asking if they could have a sleepover, as they were walking out our door one evening.  Then the siblings (fellow preschool playmates and close friends themselves) chimed in very quickly saying they wanted a sleepover too.   Somehow the idea formed that we would do a complete kid switch and free up the evening for one set of lucky parents from any parental duty.

In December, Ian and Sam went over to their friend's house for a sleepover.  And this past Saturday, we hosted the twin boys (Ian's age) and their little sister (Sam's age).  To say I was nervous was a very big understatement.  With the exception of Ian and one of the twin boys, we are dealing with some very strong personalities.   Laid back and go with the flow aren't really in their vocabularies.  The nickname I've given the girls and a few other of their preschool buddies is, "The Purple Screamers" if that gives you any indication of what we are dealing with.

I really wanted Jeff and I to go first in hosting.  I was certain I could handle the worst possible scenario if it came to be and abort the mission before Ian and Sam descended on our friend's house.  I was more intent that our friends remained our friends than having our turn at a kid-free evening.  But the timing worked out that Ian and Sam took their turn first.  Boy, did I hold my breath that all went well.  I hoped Sam could fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.  Turned out the experience for both sets of families was a good one.  Jeff and I enjoyed a great date night without having to pay for a babysitter and could even sleep in the next morning.

This past Saturday, we were able to repay the kindness and have our friend's 3 kiddos come for the night.  I was fully prepared for a very long, long night where none of us got much sleep.  To my delight, this could not have been further from the truth.  The boys were asleep by 8:55pm.  The girls proved to be a little more challenging and after many "I'm too hot, I'm too cold, It's too dark, It's too light, It's too quiet, It's too noisy, I want to sleep on the floor, I want to sleep on the bed, I don't want a blanket, I want a blanket, I want to change my pajamas, etc", they were both asleep by 9:17pm.  Not too shabby!

Everyone slept through the night.  Victory!  The kids got along great.  There was no whining, no tears, no fighting, no arguing of any kind.  Manners were at an all-time high.  

There comes an inner peace from knowing that your children (even at ages 4 and 7) aren't so high-maintenance they can't sleep at a friend's house.  The kids are showing they can be adaptive to a new environment for sleeping and do just fine.  It is a great feeling that very little instructions are needed when dropping them off. 

Yippee!